How the US and UK had prepared for 9/11
Alert
The war on terror began with a spectacular show of military strength.
Britain suddenly deployed a huge "strike force" to the Middle East,
the largest British deployment since the Falklands war of 1982.
American launched the invasion of Afghanistan together with their
allies from the Northern Alliance, rapidly taking the strategic town
of Bamiyan.
There is no doubt that the US and UK were "primed" for the conquest of
Afghanistan, and ready "at any moment" for deployment to neighbouring
Iraq. As Tony Blair himself would later observe, "the international
coalition against terrorism was now ready to act." The thing is, this
all happened relatively quietly a few weeks BEFORE the attacks of 11
September 2001.
When the planes crashed down on 9/11, the US and UK were surprisingly
well prepared for their response. Conveniently, only weeks earlier,
they had deployed troops to the very region where they would soon be
required. They invaded Afghanistan to find Osama bin Ladin, but they
never found him. Soon afterwards, they invaded Iraq to find the WMD,
but they never found those either. Nevermind, it was still the right
thing to do, or so we are encouraged to believe.
If you are just beginning to wonder what the "war on terrorism" is
REALLY about, congratulations, you've just joined a growing number of
people around the world who have woken up and decided to start
thinking for themselves.
SOURCES
BBC News, "Carrier heads for the Middle East", 3 September 2001.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1522987.stm ]
The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious has sailed from Portsmouth to
lead the biggest Royal Navy and Royal Marine deployment since the
Falklands.
HMS Illustrious is the flagship of three groups of warships
travelling to the Middle East to take part in exercise "Saif Sareea
2".
More than 24 surface ships from Britain, plus two nuclear
submarines, will be completing the 13,000 mile round trip.
The operation, costing nearly £100m, will end with a major
excercise before Christmas that will also involve the Army, Royal Air
Force and Armed Forces of Oman.
The strike force has been put together to take part in a conflict
between the fictional forces of the so-called state of 'Alawham' and
those of Oman.
British military planners want to see if they can muster the kind
of rapid reaction force outlined in the defence review which took
place in 1998.
Rear Admiral James Burnell-Nugent CBE, Commander of the UK
Maritime Forces, is heading the group.
He said: "This is a significant display of maritime power, we are
sending 8,500 sailors, airmen, and Royal Marines to the Gulf Region.
"In total the Argonaut task group consists of 40 separate
commands, brought together into an integrated, self-sustaining joint
fighting force." The deployment will include the helicopter carrier
HMS Ocean, the assault ship HMS Fearless, destroyers, frigates and
mine countermeasures vessels.
Maritime power
Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships will also be taking part in
the exercise.
Royal Marines from 3 Commando Brigade will be involved in
amphibious landings on the coast of Oman.
Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, Rear Admiral Burnell-Nugent said:
"One of the advantages that a naval task group brings is that it
carries all of its logistics with it, a full range of capabilities
from cruise missiles to laser-guided bombs to Royal Marine Commandos."
He said he was aware that his forces, which include 23,000 British
military personnel from all three services, could be redeployed at any
moment.
"I'm not aware of any plans to do so, but there's a capability
there which the government can draw on," he said.
Jane's International Security News, "India joins anti-Taliban
coalition", 15 March 2001.
[ http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jir/jir010315_1_n.shtml
]
India is believed to have joined Russia, the USA and Iran in a
concerted front against Afghanistan's Taliban regime.
Military sources in Delhi, claim that the opposition Northern
Alliance's capture of the strategic town of Bamiyan, was precipitated
by the four countries' collaborative effort.
BBC News, "US 'planned attack on Taleban'", 18 September 2001.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1550366.stm ]
A former Pakistani diplomat has told the BBC that the US was
planning military action against Osama Bin Laden and the Taleban even
before last week's attacks.
Niaz Naik, a former Pakistani Foreign Secretary, was told by
senior American officials in mid-July that military action against
Afghanistan would go ahead by the middle of October.
Mr Naik said US officials told him of the plan at a UN-sponsored
international contact group on Afghanistan which took place in Berlin.
...
The wider objective, according to Mr Naik, would be to topple
the Taleban regime and install a transitional government of moderate
Afghans in its place - possibly under the leadership of the former
Afghan King Zahir Shah.
Mr Naik was told that Washington would launch its operation from
bases in Tajikistan, where American advisers were already in place.
He was told that Uzbekistan would also participate in the
operation and that 17,000 Russian troops were on standby.
Mr Naik was told that if the military action went ahead it would
take place before the snows started falling in Afghanistan, by the
middle of October at the latest.
BBC News, "On board Britain's biggest warship", 4 October 2001.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1577929.stm ]
As US and British warships are concentrating in the region around
the Gulf, local Arabs fear that a western military strike against
their fellow Muslim neighbour Afghanistan is imminent.
Around 24 British Royal Navy warships as well as 23,000 British
troops are gathering in Oman for long-planned exercises with the
Omanis, known as Saif Sareea 2.
It's the biggest British military deployment to the Middle East
since the Gulf war of ten years ago, but British officers insist that
despite the rumours, it remains purely an exercise.
...
BBC News, "UK ponders troop deployment", 3 October 2001.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1615755.stm ]
...
About 600 Royal Marine Commandos and several hundred special
forces currently on the pre-planned exercise in Oman will not return
to the UK at the end of the training next week.
At least four Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships will also
stay behind.
The size of the force involved suggests British troops will play a
much bigger role in any offensive.
20,000 servicemen have been involved in the military exercise in
Oman - the largest in 15 years.
...
BBC News, "Allies primed for assault", 7 October 2001.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1583931.stm ]
...
Mr Blair said the international coalition against terrorism was
now ready to act.
...
FURTHER READING
War on Terror - The REAL Motives
[ http://www.thedebate.org ]
<SmirkS>
> "Saif Sareea 2"
Exercise Saif Sareea 2 (Swift Sword 2) is a major bilateral military
exercise which is being held in Oman between September and November 2001.
The exercise involves a combination of His Majesty the Sultan's Armed
Forces and Her Majesty's UK Armed Forces who will train together on land,
at sea and in the air. It is the latest in the UK’s series of major
training exercises which are held approximately every four years.
From May 2001 onwards we have deployed enabling units to put into place the
necessary facilities and support systems - e.g. the camps; the
communications and the logistics - needed to facilitate more than 20,000 UK
troops who will participate in the exercise. The work that these enabling
groups must complete is absolutely vital for the success of the exercise.
A purely artificial scenario involving made-up countries has been created
to allow a flexible, realistic, computer assisted live exercise (LIVEX),
involving air, sea and land activity. This will begin on 18 October. UK and
Omani units will combine together into two joint forces – the “Combined
Joint Force” and the “Alawham Joint Force”.
The exercise will be capped off with two days of a joint UK/Oman Maritime
and Land Firepower Demonstrations on 28/29 October. We will be working very
hard to ensure that the effect on the environment in Oman is minimised and
we will take very great care to tidy up after the Exercise.
~~~~~~~~
"tidy up"?
--
TheTruthHurts.
Alert
[ http://www.e-thepeople.org/article/31334/view ]
www_ins...@postmaster.co.uk (Alert) wrote in message news:<5b022599.04042...@posting.google.com>...